The episode opens with our main characters splitting up to try to find the angel sending the sonar signals as they're searching for Emilia's mother. Emilia goes off on her own to investigate one tower, Maou and Ashiya go to the other tower, and Urushihara and Suzuno stay at the location the group gathered at right at the beginning of the episode. I find it interesting this season that we've seen Urushihara and Suzuno paired up multiple times. It may not mean much of anything, but seeing them paired up together again like this really stood out to me.
Meanwhile, Chiho wakes up in the hospital and receives a call from Lailah. With the ring that Lailah gave her in the previous episode, the two of them are able to create enough magic for Maou and Ashiya to transform into their demon forms. But before that happens, Emi encounters Gabriel at the tower she went to, and she learns an important piece of information that makes her start questioning her motives of revenge against Maou. But thanks to a simple conversation with Alas Ramus, Emilia realizes what she needs to do.
This episode ultimately sees a battle between Raguel (the angel sending the sonar signals), Gabriel, Maou and Ashiya (in demon form), with Emi and Chiho joining in near the end.
The best part of the episode, though, was right at the end, which is a scene of Maou visiting Chiho in the hospital. Chiho is still wearing the ring Lailah gave her, and Lailah uses this as a way to convey what she wants to say to Maou. This is happening while the ending credits start rolling, and the dialogue makes it clear that Maou and the others have a new mission they need to undertake. At first, I was disappointed by this, but when the final shot of the season ended with the words, "To Be Continued," I felt a lot better about this ending. And after I watched the episode, I saw the news on Anime News Network that this season will have a sequel anime in 2023, so there will be a continuation to this story sometime next year.
After watching Episode 12, I felt it was one of the strongest episodes of the season, even if it did feel a little rushed at times. Now that I've finished the season, I think it would have been a little stronger if the anime studio had been willing to do a 10-episode season instead of a 12-episode one. The two episodes on the farm really weren't necessary, and I felt they bogged down the season at a time when the previous arc that took place at the beach was a bit of a letdown.
Also, I'm really starting to believe that this season wasn't quite as strong as it could have been, because it's ultimately serving as a bridge between the first season and what's going to happen next. The characters that are introduced and the events that take place in this season are important to move the story along, but it felt as if this season just wasn't strong enough in its own right. And knowing how far ahead the light novel is in comparison to the anime, it also makes me wonder why the anime studio didn't go ahead and do this season and the forthcoming sequel series as one longer season.
I'm holding out hope that the forthcoming sequel anime will be stronger than the second season. I will definitely be watching the next anime when it premieres next year, but will likely be going into with with lowered expectations.
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